Bionics is a discipline focusing on the application of advanced technologies to biological systems. Generally speaking, a bionic is a manufactured device or engineered tissue that substitutes for, or augments, the function of a natural limb, organ or other portion of a biological body. Although commonly thought of within the context of science fiction, significant strides have been made in the field of bionics. Research in bionics offers the possibility of restoring function to impaired and damaged biological systems.
Example applications of bionic devices include sensing and stimulating nerves in the body, such as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,829,508, entitled “Electrically sensing and stimulating system for placement of a nerve stimulator or sensor”, which is hereby incorporated by reference. Additional examples of Bionic devices include restoration or improvement of damage hearing such as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,572,531 entitled “Implantable Middle Ear Implant, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,648,813, entitled “Hearing Aid System Including Speaker Implanted In Middle Ear”, which are both incorporated herein by reference.
While bionics cannot cure many of the ailments that exist, current developments present a number of opportunities for improving quality of life, and exciting new research in the field of Bionics continues in such areas as drug delivery systems for chronic disabilities, neuromuscular stimulation devices that enable the activation or enhancement of motion to replace lost or impaired motor control, microstimulators to treat chronic disorders of the central nervous system, as well as many others.
An example body implantable device is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/030,106 entitled “Battery Powered Patient Implantable Device”, incorporated herein by reference, which describes body implantable devices for performing stimulation of body tissues, sensing of various body parameters, and communication to other devices external to the patient's body. The implanted devices can utilize a wireless communication means, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,237,712 entitled “Implantable Device and Communication Integrated Circuit Implemented Therein”, incorporated herein by reference. The wireless communication of the body implanted device can be facilitated by an antenna such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,804,561, entitled “Antenna For Miniature Implanted Medical Device”, which is incorporated herein by reference.